Brady's Story

Our boy Brady came to us in January from Silver Aurora Australian Cattle Dogs in Wasilla, Alaska. He was one of a litter of ten! We think having that many siblings helps him "go with the flow" and be as easygoing as can be expected from an ACD.

I can't say enough good things about his breeder, Suzanne Nevada. She breeds for temperament as well as conformation and herding instinct, and I can't argue with the results. The work she did with the puppies while they were still with her was impeccable as well.

Arctic Organics Week Eleven

The carrots are not what we hoped for this year! It seems to be the story of farming that, just when you think you’ve got a system or technique thoroughly worked out, nature throws a completely new curve ball. She threw it this spring when we had no rain at all from the time of planting the seeds until the middle of July. To spite our irrigation efforts, weed germination was supported more than carrot germination, and so was the subsequent weed growth. The carrot field has been living proof that weeds thrive in adverse conditions. As soon as we could identify carrot seedlings we started weeding, and we sent a weeding crew to the carrot field every spare moment until the end of July. You subscribers will see some carrots in your bags starting next week, but the farm will miss the income carrots usually bring us at market. Enjoy this week’s mix of Asian and Italian specialties. It should offer great adventures in your kitchens.
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Red cabbage
Rainbow chard
Zucchini
Broccoli side shoots
Pac choi
Tat soi
Redbor kale
Fennel x 2
Radishes
Celery
Red onions w / greens x 4
Dandelion greens
Radicchio Fiero
Lettuce
Red giant mustard
Herb bouquet

Sharing the Harvest

One of the joys of participating in Arctic Organics' CSA this summer has been sharing the overflow with others.

I felt like a real neighbor when I was able to offer watercress and collard greens to my next-door neighbor.

I felt like a philanthropist when I arrived at work with two-gallon bags filled with cauliflower and beets and onions and yes, more greens.

And I felt frugal and deeply connected and like one half of a good friendship when I asked a friend to gather our mail and water our plants while we were out of town--in exchange for our weekly bounty of vegetables. She in turn shared the veggies with her daughter and another of our friends, and it was a great opportunity for her to evaluate the CSA experience before signing up next year (she plans to!).

The online mag Grist has a post this week about single people and CSAs. We're only two in our family (well, three if you count the dog, Brady, who likes "Lettuce Day"), and while it's been a challenge to keep up with the harvest, it has definitely been worth the work. It has pushed me to make connections, be generous, be frugal, and be a friend. I'm about to re-learn how to preserve the harvest. It's a good thing, as Martha would say.

We'll probably try Full Circle Farm this winter, and it has more flexibility for family size. But I hope to be back with Arctic Organics next summer.

Disappearing Zucchini Orzo

A second recipe I was excited to try from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was Disappearing Zucchini Orzo (another attempt to feed green things to my sweetie).


DISAPPEARING ZUCCHINI ORZO

¾ lb pkg orzo pasta (multicolored is fun)

1 chopped onion, garlic to taste
3 large zucchini
olive oil for sauté
thyme
oregano
¼ cup grated parmesan or any hard yellow cheese

Bring 6 cups water or chicken stock to a boil and add pasta. Cook 8 to 12 minutes.

Use a cheese grater or mandoline to shred zucchini, sauté briefly with chopped onion and garlic until lightly golden.

Add spices to zucchini mixture, stir thoroughly, and then remove mixture from heat.

Combine with cheese and cooked orzo, salt to taste, serve cool or at room temperature.


The verdict? My sweetie wanted seconds, and was disappointed when I took the last of the leftovers to work for lunch a few days later. Definitely a winner.

I'll do this one again and again, and try it with other shredded veggies. Maybe call it Hide-A-Veggie Orzo.

Arctic Organics Week Ten

Local vegetables follow t he season, wherever it may lead…
This is the time when we play Russian roulette with the first (usually light) frost of the season. There are many crops that need as much time as possible to mature and size up, but which are compromised by even a light frost. These include celery, fennel, peas, cut flowers, potatoes, and zucchini. We try corn, artichokes and winter squash every year, but loose just as often to the frost. Many vegetables thrive after the first frost, and that’s why we can plan on a growing season that extends into October. If we’re lucky and have no frost in late August, even the frost vulnerable veggies will have their hay-day in September. Thanks to all who were able to make it out for the Farm Day! It is a pleasure for us to share the farm with you! Enjoy!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Market Express turnips w/greens
Kohlrabi
Celery
Brussels sprouts tops
Chioggia beet greens
Mustard greens
Tat soi
Hon tsai tai
Spinach
Lettuce x 2
Watercress
Bianca di Maggio onions
Cilantro
ParsleyBasil

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

I read Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, earlier this summer, before the weekly waves of produce started arriving from Arctic Organics. I knew that our Alaskan veggies wouldn't be as diverse and abundant as those from Kingsolver's new home in Appalachia, but I was still excited to try some of the recipes.

Since my significant other isn't a big veggie-fan, I was particularly interested in the recipe for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies.


ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about two dozen)
1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl.
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips
Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.


So when it was finally zucchini time, I made the cookies. The verdict? Replace half the chocolate chips with walnuts. This is not a Toll House cookie, distinctively creamy, buttery, slightly salty. This is a cakey cookie, like individual, mini-quickbreads. It should be itself, not a just-missing approximation of its cousin, the Toll House.

Arctic Organics Week Nine

Heads are rolling!
Your bags are loaded with heavy headed veggies this week, including broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. We can’t hold them back! This sunshine is hard to argue with when it comes to a developing cauliflower head. We are losing five of our workers this week and next, not by our choice, but thanks to school and other obligations. So we are actually glad this large load of veggies is ready to harvest while the crew is still here. Enjoy!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Beets w / greens
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Zucchini
Cabbage
Broccoli raab
Toscano kale
Celery
Red Giant Mustard
Arugula
Radicchio
Lettuce x 2Scallions

Arctic Organics Week Eight

August 7
Amazing vegetable growing weather!
This is dream weather for farmers: solid rain showers with beautiful sunny days in between. We have certainly paid our dues with les than ideal weather in the past. We had a couple of days off at Tangle Lakes this past weekend, so what do we do for fun? Pick blueberries! As if we don’t get enough picking in already! We savored the time away from the farm, as we are heading into the busiest part of the season, when, ironically, the crew thins out as they head back to school.
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Zucchini
Market Express turnips / greens
Collards
Braising greens bunch
Spinach
Radishes
Arugula
Escarole
Lettuce x 2
Dill
Parsley
Basil

*Produce “cycling”When we have sugarsnap peas, cucumbers, tomatoes or other crops that we can’t supply to all of the subscribers in one week, we will rotate through the subscribers, using color coding on the checklist (in Anchorage), or by assigning them to an entire pick-up location. This ensures that every member gets its share.

Arctic Organics Week Seven

U-Pick Raspberries!
Our raspberry patch is loaded with berries! There are enough this year to invite you out to pick. The price is $5.00 per pound; a pint weighs about 1/2 pound. Call us for an appointment.
- River and Sarah
Vacation plans?
A reminder during these large delivery days: If you go on vacation PLEASE call Sarah or River and they won't bring your order. This helps to keep down the bags of left-overs. Thanks!
Open Farm Day:
Sunday, August 19th
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Come out and take a tour, engage in conversation and generally have a fun-filled afternoon here at the farm where your veggies grow.

Today’s delivery includes:
Broccoli
Zucchini
Baby beets w / greens
Kohlrabi
Redbor kale
Spinach
Tat soi
Radicchio
Lettuce x 3
ArugulaDill

Arctic Organics Week Six

It ’s a big harvest, and with an Asian twist!
We do our best to plan the season so that the harvest will be metered out throughout the summer, but this week we had to pick more varieties than we might have planned because they are inarguably ready. You’ll also find a nice selection of herbs this week to spark your creativity. So get out your salad bowls and pans and get busy! The veggies are thriving with the intermittent rainy and sunny weather of the past week. Enjoy!
- River and Sarah
Today’s delivery includes:
Cabbage
Broccoli
Market Express turnips w /
greens
Toscano kale
Tat soi
Pac choi
Daikon
Swiss chard
Lettuce x 3
Red rib dandelion
Escarole
Chervil
Italian parsley
BasilGarlic Whistles

Arctic Organics Week Five

Not beets yet! But such tender greens
The mid-season crops are eager to burst into production, just not quite yet! The first of such vegetables is the kohlrabi that you’re seeing today. Hot on its heels are the zucchini and broccoli, along with the early cabbages. Part of today’s harvest is helping with the main crop development, as with the beets. In order to make large bulbs, the beet patch must be thinned. These beet greens are the most tender and delicious you’ll have all summer. We are working hard to keep the weeds at bay in order to let the veggies outgrow them! Enjoy the veggies!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Kohlrabi
Zucchini
Collards
Spinach
Purple pac choi
Beet greens
Lettuce x 3
Dandelion greens
Watercress
Herb bouquet
Cilantro

Arctic Organics Week Four

Many shades of green! Here at Arctic Organics, it’s greens season pretty much all season, but we do try to keep it exciting with variation and new options each week. This week you’ll find watercress and Swiss chard premiering. The bags are generally organized with the cookable vegetables in one and the salad vegies in the other, although there is certainly no set rule.

We’re also seeing many shades of green in the weeds here at the farm! They are absolutely thriving, and are definitely getting the best of us in the carrot field where the crew is spending all of its spare time searching out and unburying the carrot seedlings.

Enjoy the greens!

- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Pac choi
Swiss chard
Market Express turnips
Red Russian kale
Mizuna
Tat soi
Lettuce x 3
WatercressBasil

Two Quiche Week

This Tuesday I was drowning in greens--and that was before I picked up this week's CSA allotment. On the way home from work I picked up the puppy at daycare, then stopped at Carr's for milk and dinner. Walking through the dairy aisle I saw them: refridgerated pie crusts. Hmm. Anathema to this farmer's grandaughter, but perhaps a lifesaver. I could make quiche with all my greens!!!

So Wednesday I made my first quiche--which turned out to be more like a spinach pie. I took every green from Arctic Organics that their info sheets had told me I could treat like spinach, chopped it up, and mounded it in the pie crust, adapted a recipe from the Horn of the Moon cookbook for Spinach and Feta Quiche, and into the oven it went. Tasted good, if a little green-heavy.

Every Friday here at work is potluck lunch, and I didn't feel like going back to the grocery store. Since I still had greens--thanks to Tuesday's pick-up--and I had cheese, eggs, milk and the second pie crust from the packet, I decided my contribution would be quiche.

This time the green was kale. I micro-steamed it, layered it with mushrooms and cheese, and poured in the egg/milk mixture. Forty-five minutes later, it was beautiful. Sorry, no photos. Not that organized yet.

As I was assembling the quiche, I was thinking about what a great metaphor it was for my green philosophy--something like "be as green as you can be, one step at a time." Here's an ingredient list:

Pie Crust--storebought, not organic, not local
Kale--local, unofficially organic
Mushrooms--canned, storebought, not organic, not local
Monterey Jack cheese--"O" brand ("big" organic), not local
Milk--organic, not local
Buttermilk--not organic, not local
Spices--not organic, not local
Garlic--bottled, not organic, not local
Onion--dried, not organic, not local

Arctic Organics Week Three

From the Beans:

Rain finally came! It was such a pleasure to be lulled awake Sunday morning by the sound of a true down pour. The fields and plants are soaking it up. The potatoes now have a chance to grow after 60-plus dry days! This is the time of the season when, just as we are resting on our laurels for having finished planting the entire field, we realize that the weeds have been enjoying the freshly cultivated soil as well. Do we have a healthy crop of weeds! It’s all hands on deck for
weeding in the full season crops like rutabagas, Purple Top turnips, carrots and beets. Enjoy the vegetables!
- River and Sarah

Today’s delivery includes:
Chinese cabbage
Broccoli
Winterbor kale
Mizuna
Tat soi
Lettuce x 3
Spinach
Arugula
Radishes
Herb bouquet – sage, marjoramand thyme

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

About a month ago I bought some rhubarb from River and Sarah at the Anchorage Farmer's Market, and this past week there was some more rhubarb in the weekly CSA bag. I've been searching for this perfect Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler recipe, and have been tweaking this one from Simply Recipes.

The first incarnation I made in too small a pan, and the topping refused to cook in the middle. I corrected this mistake the second time around, and substituted buttermilk for the milk. The buttermilk gave the topping a flavor that I didn't like as much as I had liked the flavor of the first cobbler, and the rhubarb didn't cook as thoroughly as I would have liked.

Still working on it!